MovieChat Forums > Career Opportunities (1991) Discussion > Missing Material (Comprehensive)

Missing Material (Comprehensive)

posted 18 years ago by floydsr
21 replies | jump to latest

Hey, everyone. I just saw this movie on Thursday, I loved it, etc. As much as I liked it, I agree with the sentiment on this board of many that there was some potential not met and perhaps a questionable ending sequence.

After reading the whole board and watching the trailer, I became very concerned and curious at all the material apparently missing. I went through the trailer and as you'll see if you look at this list, the missing material used in the trailer alone is staggering. Here is what I have come up with:

(list compiled with DVD in computer for comparison fact check)
-In the beginning of the trailer, Jim brags to the boys while walking that he invented "the artificial dog heart"...in the movie, he is leaning against a pole and explains he invented the "artificial cow heart"

-In the preview, he begins to brag to the boys about an almost signed "ball contract" while walking...this is not in the film

-In the preview, Jim is shown lying in bed with curlers in his hair when someone pokes his nose (presumably to wake him)...this is not in the film

-In the preview, the mom is heard and shown to say, "Jim is gonna find himself", probably during the dinner scene since she has the same shirt on...this is not in the film

-In the preview, apparently after the instructions to not eat off the shelves, the Custodian, commands Jim with the line: "And don't play any music." Jim replies with: "I don't have any time to play any music"...in the movie, the Custodian never mentions any rules on playing music and thus Jim never says this comment either

-In the preview, Jim abruptly sits up, apparently startled awake, wearing one of those "beauty sleep" things on his eyes, in what appears to be a tent, the tent then tips over and falls off the high display shelf...in the movie, after the kissing scene, sounds of Jim and Josie laughing are heard as the tent is shown and as Officer Don shows up to question Jim. When he knocks, "they" are startled and the tent flips over the edge and they both squeal, though upon closer inspection, it's actually quite easy to see that only one person (Jim) is in the tent

-In the preview, Jim says "Do you know how you make me feel?" and Josie responds with "Like a natural woman?" as she looks at some makeup...this exchange does not occur in the movie

-In the preview, following this "natural woman" remark, Jim is shown in a dress waving...in the movie, the only shot of Jim in a dress is during the "trying on weird outfits" scene and is when he walks into the frame and grabs his crotch

-In the preview, over short shots of the robbers, Josie shoplifting and Jim's solo store hijinks, Jim is heard to say, "I'm a janitor-in-training. You're an heiress" and Josie responds with "Ya know what your problem is?" as she trails him while he pushes the trash cart down the aisle. He then turns around and retorts, "No, but let me go through my list"...this aisle scene and dialouge do not occur in the movie

-In the preview, after the title card is shown, Josie is seen dancing in the tape aisle, pulling her skirt down and off (worn over pants for some reason)...in the movie, she is never seen removing this skirt and in fact, still has it on during the "plan" scenes and the dance and kiss scene. The first time she is seen without it is during the rollerskating scene

-In the preview, Josie and Jim stand face to face in the makeup aisle and Josie says, "If I was sweating, would you touch me?" and Jim responds "I would probably touch you even if you were covered with spiders"...this hilarious exchange does not occur in the film (sadly)

-In the preview, in the shot of Josie on top of Jim under the bench as they hide from the robbers, Josie says, "It's not as uncomfortable as I thought it'd be" and Jim nervously and hilariously replies with "Oh/No, no, no, it's not bad"...in the movie, Jim and Josie instead have a comical exchange after Jim comments on the fact that Josie is on top contrary to her original question of "Do you wanna get on top?" when she comes up with the idea moments before

In addition to these trailer and movie differences, I read the "Production Notes" "bonus" feature on the DVD and found something else odd. The Notes read as follows: "During one especially emotional scene, in which Josie and Jim begin to open up to one another, the craftsmen built a 'Garden of Eden' in the middle of the store. Drawing their materials from the gardening and bedding departments, within an otherwise empty, impersonal store." This is likely not a missing scene, I say, after rewatching the scene where the two discuss Jim's reputation. It takes place in what appears to be a gardening section with the surrounding aisles containing pillows and towels. "Garden of Eden" is a bit extreme, though?

Lastly, people have mentioned the soundtrack packaging contains still shots of scenes edited out. Perhaps those people could re-post descriptions of those shots in this thread so we have one big list.

Maybe I just waisted an afternoon doing all this, but I loved this movie and after seeing all these inconsistencies, Im very interested to see what it would have looked like as originally intended. I have some big questions for the editors. Were we really supposed to not see Josie going into the dressing room before she falls asleep? That struck me as sort of strange that we had no visual cue as to why she was still there. And this "Garden of Eden" scene, was it more emotional than the final cut? Jim implies with the lines, "Well, there's 'tease'" and "this is becoming amusing, but who exactly calls me a liar?" that perhaps there was significantly more to their recollections of each other's pasts then we got to see. And this trailer? Holy crap. Ok, I broke the whole thing down. There's 12 lines or scenes not shown in the movie. I know they're made before hand, but to quote Jim's little brother, "That's gotta be some kinda record." And listen close to the end of the trailer. "...'Career Opportunities on video cassette." So, either the cassette of this movie contains all sorts of deleted scenes, haha, or these schlubs left this absurdly awry (though very entertaining) trailer in tact for the video release.

Finally, I would agree the ending seems a bit rushed, so who knows if that was the original concept. Im not as big of an '80s John Hughes expert as Id like to be, but I found the ending to "The Breakfast Club" to be extrememly satisfying in that it didnt end with the Club all dedicating themselves to forming their own "new clique" or something. It ended realistically, bittersweetly and with a little bit of hope. Im not sure "Career Opportunities" could have had quite as poignant an ending, but perhaps it could have been more rewarding.

I mean, it was only 83 minutes long. What the *blank* went wrong?

P.S. The obligatory "Career Opportunities" forum reply remark...Jennifer Connelly is so hot in this. The horse. 'Nuf said

[–] toddstephenso1 18 years ago

Thanks for the info.

[–] Gotham95 18 years ago

Additional scenes:

-Jim driving small train with ape as passenger

-Jim talking with ape at snack bar

[–] eddiej1984 17 years ago

^ Actually you kinda see jim driving with the ape.
Byt anyways I have a tape of WCW Wrestling from late march 1991, and theres a commercial for the movie in theatres, and shows the scene in the dressing room with the different words.

[–] rlehlinger 16 years ago

I noticed all of those parts missing, from the original trailer. I remeber when the movie was first in theatres, and the scene that popped out at me that made me want to see the movie was "If I was sweating, would you touch me"? Jim replies, "I would probably touch you if you were covered with spiders"... LOL

But when I finally rented it, that part did not make the final cut, DAMN!!!
So many scenes did not make the cut, and from the looks of it, we may never see it.

PLUS, the dvd claims to have the original trailer, even says it on the sleeve, and it is simply not on the dvd. I was so pissed cause I already had the vhs, and bought the dvd in hopes to get the trailer, ITS NOT THERE!
Do you have the trailer?

[–] whynotspoonerism 16 years ago

Nobody seems to have done the detective work to recognize that A) 2 years passed between the filming and release, B) almost all of John Hughes' screenplays featured an average of 1 hour of extra material. (Breakfast Club and Planes-Trains-Automobiles were each originally 3 hours long, but were edited down to 90-minute versions for theaters)

Career Opportunities' director BRYAN GORDON became a "flavor of the month" in 1987 with his little comedy "Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall" which focused on an unemployed hero who lost his job due to corporate downsizing. This protagonist decided to network among businessmen for future advancement, by meeting them at a musical dance hall. This goofy mini-movie won the 1988 OSCAR for best Short Film and attracted the attention of producer John Hughes who was looking for someone to direct his next screenplay for Universal Studios.

Hughes had most recently been working on Universal's "Uncle Buck," which finished filming in early 1989. Bryan Gordon geared up to begin shooting CAREER OPPORTUNITIES shortly thereafter, using a cameo from John Candy. If you watch C.O. carefully, during a sequence in the music aisle (filmed at night in a real Target store that was open every day), you can see a 1989 album from New Kids on the Block.

After C.O. finished filming, producer Hughes put it on a "back burner" intending to supervise editing and revisions via reactions from test audiences. However he became busy prepping his next movie - 1990's larger-budgeted Home Alone at 20th Century Fox - which enhanced and improved C.O.'s basic ideas about slapstick thieves. Home Alone was already pre-scheduled for a holiday release date, forced to meet its Thanksgiving deadline. When that blockbuster vaulted the "name brand" of "John Hughes" into a marketing gimmick for instant profits, Universal Studios became impatient. $$$-hungry eager to cash-in their 1989 investments, they decided to rush Career Opportunities into theaters, without allowing Hughes time to finish the film the way he'd originally intended.

This annoyed John, who was a control freak (he personally created all of the advertising campaigns for his movies, as he had a career in advertising prior to entering Hollywood). He had already experienced a previous nightmare release of an unfinished film, when Paramount dumped "She's Having a Baby" before John could finish it. That 1988 flop angered Hughes so much that he canceled his business contract with Paramount, and switched to Universal.

SO: 3 years later, he faced the same situation all over again, and begged Universal not to release C.O. in a similarly unfinished format.

Hughes felt like the existing version of C.O. didn't accurately represent what he had intended from the screenplay or its characters, showing the story in a cheap and vulgar manner. Adding to embarrassment was the fact that theater lobbies featured "bouncing" cardboard standees of buxom Connelly riding a rocking horse in her tanktop, furthering Hughes' chagrin, realizing his Home Alone success had now turned into a tawdry liability.

John offered to buy C.O. from the studio - paying back Universal for the entire budget - in order prevent C.O. from being "ruined" for audiences in its current un-tweaked version. Universal refused, eager to nab a trendy piece of Home Alone's "wacky bandits" syndrome, and thus C.O. flopped just how Hughes had feared.

In a later interview, John disowned Career Opportunities, explaining that he was not happy about the experience or its results.

Unfortunately, that era did not have today's DVD marketplace, so all of the "lost" film footage is buried somewhere (possibly destroyed b/c it seemed worthless back then), and may only exist nowadays on a rough-edit home-video copy at Hughes' home. If so, those videotaped scenes may only see daylight after Hughes' funeral in a few decades when future fans form a museum from his career archives.

Those of you who enjoyed Jim & Josie's relationship, should track down copies of Hughes' rare 1998 gem "Reach the Rock" which was a low-budget indie dramedy with a romance b/t a charming blue-collar loser and rich beauty. Sort of a thematic companion to Breakfast Club, Universal released RTR in a handful of theaters 10 years ago, unfortunately it's only on VHS, not yet on DVD.

[–] rlehlinger 16 years ago

Thanks for the info, it unfortunate that it happened that way, nut things like that happen when you are making movies that make millions!!!

I hope that one day the lost footage will surface, for all of us fans to enjoy:)

[–] floydsr 16 years ago

Wow, WhyNotSpoonerism, thanks so much for the info. I admit I did not "do my homework," because I really didnt know where to start. That is sad to hear that that's what happened. It's such a shame, too, because this movie is amazing. I just watched it again last night and it is still a great film even in the condition it is in. A few comments and questions for everyone/you, Spoonerism:

-The quality of this movie is seen in the fact that it is still so enjoyable and watchable despite the material left on the cutting room floor. The only problems as is are: a) many of the scenes which were cut look hilarious/important (Jim and Josie's "you're an heiress" talk) and seem like they could only have added to the movie and b) the rushed, rushed ending, which frankly is a tad confusing, though doesnt ruin it for me at all.

-It's cool to know that this movie actually predated "Home Alone" for all the people out there who rag on it for being a rip-off. And is further condemnation to the nation of Germany for retitling it

-I cant wait to scope out "Reach the Rock"! Thanks, Spoonerism!

-Where did you find out all this info, Spoonerism? Im very, very interested in John Hughes' work, and a buddy of mine and I always discuss potentially edited stuff from his movies

-Someone implied a long time ago on another part of this forum that this film had a ton of trouble in production, etc., but without all the info you gave. But they also implied that John Hughes had essentially "taken over" as director of this film from Bryan Gordon. Is there any truth to that, Spoonerism?

Again, thanks for all the info, Spoonerism. Im glad fans can finally get to the bottom of some of these questions

[–] Dark_Sithlord 16 years ago

Informative post, whynotspoonerism. I've always had a certain fascination with people who create movies and their battles with studios which interfere with the ceative process, and basically ruin their vision. Two movies which come to mind are Richard Donner on Superman II, and Ridley Scott on Blade Runner. I had no idea Career Opportunities was contested by Hughes, and it's too bad he never got a chance to release CO in his vision.

[–] McQualude 16 years ago

Great post, thanks.

|Men of broader intellect know that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal.|

[–] Screen_Queen 12 years ago

Thank you so much for the post, floyd. The movie is missing a lot of the more sentimental moments which would have elevated it a bit more. Instead what we have here is a fun movie that never amounts to anything more, and is ultimately quite insubstantial, which is unfortunate considering how much potential the movie had. spoonerism's excellent posts outline so well why the movie was missing something, especially that singular 'John Hughes' factor. It's ironic how studios want to release entertaining movies, but crush creativity wherever they can.

I only do it with superheroes.

[–] tdl797 11 years ago

How did you acquire all of this information?

I'm thinking there have to be some missing scenes that show how people keep getting in and out of a store that is supposedly locked up.

The film is so short, I really don't understand why the trailer scenes aren't in the film.

Any idea if some of the scenes are restored when it's shown on cable?

[–] MeteorShoot 9 years ago

those videotaped scenes may only see daylight after Hughes' funeral in a few decades

And he died the year after you wrote this. So sad.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TommyJarvis82 (2471) 4 years ago

Very interesting.

[–] Dark_Sithlord 16 years ago

That's an excellent post, floydsr. I had no idea this movie had been missing so much material. If the studio can ever get their act together, find the deleted scenes and allow Hughes to restore the movie much like Warner did with the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II, then I would be the first in line to buy that DVD. I liked this movie, but it could have been so much more. Missed opportunity, I would say.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] leermartinez 10 years ago

I read something a long time ago where the actor who played Jim improvised a lot of his scenes. he basically followed the script but would changed things up just for the heck of it. When he was talking to the kids it was said he was having a great time making things up. He was trying to make the kids crack up on camera and would ad lib stuff. I think that why he would change something like cow to dog or vice versa. he was just making up things on the fly to try and make his character seem more legit as a liar.

[–] Captain_film 9 years ago

Thanks for the info, I really hope we can get a Blu-ray with all these deleted scenes.

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Sharp Aquos Special Edition, Samsung Series 6, PS3, Xbox 36O, Wii, Panasonic 3DO

[–] Dan_Garten 9 years ago

Interesting.

[–] Jakemcclake 9 years ago

I find that directors cut a lot out of movies to shorten them.

I have to disagree with you about the ending. It was perfect. The town liar and the tease who are called these names because they show a talent for pretending, that the townspeople do not totally recognize, wind up in the "Land of Make Pretend", Hollywood California.

This fits with what happens throughout this movie:

(For example Josie convinces Nestor Pyle she is interested in him,
Jim Convinces both Nestor Pyle and his partner they are surrounding by people with guns in the middle of a million dollar drug deal, Jim convinces the Store Manager he is the right person for the Operations Manager job,

and Jim and Josie convince Nester and his partner that they are arguing over the fact that Josie wants to go along with the two killers.)

as Jim Dodge and Josie McClellan
prove they are talented
pretenders
or
in other words they are

Actors,

so they should move out of that little town and
Hollywood fits.

[–] ItsEddieHaskellBeyotch 7 years ago

I find that directors cut a lot out of movies to shorten them.

I have to disagree with you about the ending. It was perfect. The town liar and the tease who are called these names because they show a talent for pretending, that the townspeople do not totally recognize, wind up in the "Land of Make Pretend", Hollywood California.

This fits with what happens throughout this movie:

(For example Josie convinces Nestor Pyle she is interested in him,
Jim Convinces both Nestor Pyle and his partner they are surrounding by people with guns in the middle of a million dollar drug deal, Jim convinces the Store Manager he is the right person for the Operations Manager job,

and Jim and Josie convince Nester and his partner that they are arguing over the fact that Josie wants to go along with the two killers.)

as Jim Dodge and Josie McClellan
prove they are talented
pretenders
or
in other words they are

Actors,

so they should move out of that little town and
Hollywood fits.

Jesus. Did you put this in EVERY thread you replied to? Good analysis. You wanna cookie?

When there's no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.